Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 8 of the NFL season on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium:
Brian Wacker, reporter
It was painfully obvious the Ravens’ offense had become stagnant and immobile with Cooper Rush starting in place of the injured Lamar Jackson, and the switch to the more agile Tyler Huntley paid off tremendously. He played under control and mistake-free in helping spark an offense that had been in search of a rhythm for weeks.
On defense, coordinator Zach Orr dialed up a couple of key blitzes that pressured quarterback Caleb Williams and led to two intentional grounding penalties. Orr said that he felt like his defense found some aggression two weeks ago in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams and the unit seemed to pick up where it left off.
The Bears are hardly a juggernaut, but they had won four in a row and the Ravens desperately needed a victory. Mission accomplished.
Mike Preston, columnist
The Ravens won a game Sunday and it didn’t matter who they beat. They needed a win badly and got it.
These aren’t the Bears we have seen in recent years. Before Sunday, Chicago had won four games in a row. The Ravens are far from championship form, but they needed a win to get started and at least pretend like they are in contention. They also get the sorry Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, and they should win that game, too, establishing a winning streak.
This win was far from perfect for the Ravens, but at this point they can’t be choosy. They will take anything they get right now, even a win over the woeful Bears.
Fortunately, they will get basically the same quality of opponent for the next couple of weeks. That’s life, but that’s also the NFL.
Josh Tolentino, columnist
What took so long for the Ravens to start Tyler Huntley?
The one-time Pro Bowl selection benefited from a full week of practice with the first-team offense and sparked life back into Baltimore’s season. Starting in place of the injured Lamar Jackson — after catapulting fellow backup Cooper Rush on the depth chart — Huntley gave the Ravens juice throughout Sunday’s much-needed victory over the Bears. He looked much more in rhythm with his pass catchers, completing 17 of 22 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown with a passer rating of 116.9. His presence in the backfield alongside tailback Derrick Henry also presented the Bears with an element of surprise and deception; Huntley added seven carries for 53 yards.
The Ravens’ defense looked suspect to open the Week 8 contest, but Zach Orr’s unit buckled down and played smash-mouth football against a Bears team that brought a four-game winning streak into M&T Bank Stadium. Nate Wiggins’ interception off Caleb Williams in the fourth quarter served as the exclamation point, marking the defense’s second turnover in as many games.
The Ravens now face a quick turnaround, along with a 1,000-mile road trip down to South Florida. But if Jackson indeed is slated to return from his three-game absence Thursday at Miami, there are reasons to be optimistic in Baltimore. The Ravens, no matter how ugly, needed this win against the Bears to keep their season alive.
Sam Cohn, reporter
It feels like forever since M&T Bank Stadium felt this alive. Derrick Henry found the end zone, marking the first Ravens touchdown in 21 days, and fans inched forward in their seats. Nate Wiggins’ fourth-quarter interception lit the crowd on fire in a crucial spot. And Tyler Huntley’s touchdown pass to Charlie Kolar all but confirmed the Ravens could keep their season from completely sinking (what a weird sentence).
The Bears aren’t a statement win, even though they arrived in Baltimore on a four-game winning streak, but this victory was about the Ravens finding themselves again. And proving to themselves, as much as anyone else, that they were still capable of playing winning football. There’s still a long road ahead to the postseason. But it had to start somewhere.
Taylor Lyons, reporter
The Ravens haven’t had stability at quarterback — on and off the field — in nearly a month. Tyler Huntley provided just that in Sunday’s win, which capped a tumultuous week for Baltimore quarterbacks ahead of as much of a must-win there can be in Week 8.
The Ravens’ new No. 2 signal caller completed 77% of his passes with 186 yards and a touchdown — something former QB2 Cooper Rush never did in three games — while leading timely scoring drives and avoiding any turnovers. Sunday showed why Rush was never the best fit in Todd Monken’s offense and why Huntley, who’s bounced around since he was last in Baltimore, always was.
The Ravens desperately needed this; starting 1-6 would almost certainly kill whatever hope this season still has. This Huntley-led victory keeps their postseason dreams alive for at least another week, when hopefully Lamar Jackson can return for “Thursday Night Football” in Miami. If he can’t, Huntley is surely capable of beating the lowly Dolphins anyway.
C.J. Doon, editor
Is that a heartbeat I hear in Baltimore?
Despite all the drama surrounding Lamar Jackson and his will-he-won’t-he status entering Sunday’s game, the Ravens buckled down and found a way to grind out a win. With a 2-5 record and the Dolphins, Vikings, Browns and Jets up next, Baltimore could climb its way back into playoff contention before Thanksgiving. Imagine that.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Is Jackson really healthy enough to lead the Ravens to a long winning streak? Him sitting out Sunday after practicing all week is a bit concerning, especially given how crucial the game was. With a short turnaround before Thursday night’s trip to South Florida, it’s not a given that he’ll be ready to go. Trying to predict his playing status is a fool’s errand.
At least for the moment, the most important thing is the Ravens have life. There’s still plenty to sort through between Jackson’s absence and the Ravens’ mysterious handling of it, which will determine how fans should manage expectations going forward. Whether it’s Jackson himself or coach John Harbaugh, somebody should explain what’s going on with his hamstring and why there’s so much uncertainty. “Competitive advantage” is not a good excuse when the season is hanging by a thread.
Tim Schwartz, editor
They needed that one, and they needed it badly. The Ravens did the little things right (finally) and managed to outscore Chicago 30-10 after digging themselves an early 6-0 hole. Holding the Bears to two field goals was crucial, because the fans would’ve turned against this team if it were down 14. They let Derrick Henry get his groove back and they even allowed Keaton Mitchell to touch the ball. Funny how that tends to work out so well for them.
Most importantly, Baltimore’s defense looks closer to the elite level it promised to play at, and with Lamar Jackson likely back Thursday night against a bad Dolphins team, this is shaping up to be the week the Ravens turned their season around.
Bennett Conlin, editor
The Ravens saved their season. It doesn’t matter if it was pretty or impressive or even all that memorable. What matters is that Baltimore left M&T Bank Stadium with a win. And my goodness, the Ravens needed a win.
They’re just 2-5 after this victory, but the four games before a Thanksgiving clash with the Bengals are against the Dolphins, Vikings, Browns and Jets. Assuming Lamar Jackson returns soon — his availability has been puzzling — the Ravens should be 5-6 or 6-5 entering that prime-time tilt with Cincinnati. That’s good enough to be back in the AFC North race, especially with the Steelers facing a tough schedule the rest of the year with games left against the Colts, Chargers, Bills and Lions, among others.
Baltimore is back in the mix to make the postseason because Zach Orr’s defense stood tall and Tyler Huntley managed the game effectively at quarterback. The Ravens needed this badly.
Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon.